If my rent is due on the 1st does my landlord have to give me a grace period after the 1st to pay my rent without charging me a late fee of $200

I have never heard of a grace period allowed with rental payments. If it did it would be on the lease, which I doubt it is not.

If my rent is due on the 1st does my landlord have to give me a grace period after the 1st to pay my rent without charging me a late fee of $200


Georgia Law is:

"The date the rent is due should be stated in your lease or agreed upon by the landlord and tenant. There is no law which specifies any grace period or designates a rent due date. Rather, a grace period is a matter of agreement between the landlord and tenant. It allows the tenant extra time in which to pay the rent without breaching the lease or rental agreement. The landlord and tenant may agree to any grace period they choose or they can agree not to have a grace period. In addition, a grace period may be created based on the landlord's conduct of accepting late rent over the course of several months without charging a penalty.

If a tenant fails to pay the rent by the required date, including the time allowed for a grace period, the landlord may charge a late fee if the late fee is provided for in the lease. If the lease does not allow for a late fee, the landlord is not allowed to impose such a fee. The amount of the late fee will be the amount agreed upon by the landlord and tenant in the lease itself."

What does your lease say about a late fee or did you have an oral agreement? Note that if there is no provision for a late fee... the landlord cannot impose one. The landlord can, however, evict you on the first day your rent is late.